1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magnetic disk loading/ejecting device used in a magnetic disk drive apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, a magnetic disk drive apparatus such as a floppy disk drive apparatus as an external memory of a computer has a loading/ejecting device for loading/ejecting a disk. The loading/ejecting device has a holder for positioning a floppy disk to a drive position. This holder is pivotally mounted on a base of a floppy disk drive device and can be interlocked with a door disposed to freely close/open a floppy disk insertion port of the drive device. The holder has a clamper. While the door is closed, the holder is held at the first position. In this position, the clamper of the holder cooperates with a spindle mounted on the base to clamp the floppy disk. When the door is opened, the holder is pivoted to the second position to separate the clamper from the spindle. When the floppy disk is inserted through the insertion hole and is placed on the spindle, and the door is closed, the holder is pivoted to the first position, so that the floppy disk is clamped between the spindle and the clamper and is placed in the driven position.
In this manner, the conventional holder can be pivoted between the first and second positions. For this reason, a relatively large space is required for the pivotal movement of the holder. The magnetic disk drive apparatus becomes large in size, and the positioning precision of the floppy disk is degraded, resulting in inconvenience.
The same applicant proposed a loading/ejecting device which overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks and which was described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,562,498 issued on Dec. 31, 1985. According to this device, when the floppy disk is inserted in the holder, the holder is vertically moved together with the floppy disk to the driven position. The floppy disk is ejected by pressing a loading/ejecting plate from the initial position to the forward position, and the holder is vertically moved upward together with the floppy disk. In this manner, according to this device, since the holder can be linearly moved along the vertical direction, the drawbacks described above can be solved. The loading/ejecting plate is normally biased by a biasing member toward the initial position. When the loading/ejecting plate is pressed to the forward position against the biasing force of the biasing member, the plate is locked in the forward position. However, in this device, when the pressing operation of the plate is stopped before the plate is locked in the forward position (i.e., before the holder is completely lifted), the plate is biased by the biasing member and is returned to the initial position. For this reason, the holder is moved downward with the loading/ejecting plate although the floppy disk is being ejected. Therefore, the floppy disk is moved downward together with the holder while the disk is partially ejected. The floppy disk is then clamped by the holder. If this happens, the floppy disk or the drive apparatus will be damaged.